A 30-year-old labourer died and two others were injured reportedly following a landslip at a construction site opposite to a church at Derebail on Wednesday. This is the second such incident in the area.
The police gave the name of the deceased as Kashappa, a native of Badami taluk in Bagalkot district. The injured labourers are Shiva Nayak (21) and Swami Nayak (30), both from Hospet taluk in Bellary district. Five labourers were working at the construction site of a five-storey residential complex when the incident occurred.
This place is just 100 metres away from the complex, which is under construction, where one person died and another labourer was seriously injured following similar landslip in November 2012.
Shiva Nayak, an injured, said they were all levelling a portion of the land to construct an embankment wall. While an earth mover was involved in digging the mud, labourers were trying to remove the earth that falls. “Swami Nayak and I had our backs to the earth mover. Suddenly there was landslip and we both were trapped,” Mr. Nayak said. A portion of the compound wall of the adjoining house also fell.
The construction agency personnel called for the help of fire and emergency services personnel. Mr. Kashappa was found dead. Mr. Swami Nayak, who had injury on his left leg and Mr. Shiva Nayak, who had bursaries over the body, were admitted to a hospital in Kuntikana.
“It all occurred in a fraction of a second before my eyes. I do not know how to run the family,” said Mahadevi, the grieving wife of Mr. Kashappa. The couple had come to Mangalore four months ago with their one-year-old child. The couple have three more children, who are in their native place.
Ms. Mahadevi was among the 30-odd labourers working in the construction site.
The contractor, Densil Fernandes, said all precautions had been taken while digging the earth. “We knew about the earlier mishap (November 2012) and had taken precautions. It was a fragile portion of earth, which was not visible to us, that caved in,” said Mr. Fernandes, who was in the hospital overseeing arrangements for the deceased and for the injured labourers.
The five-storey residential complex was being built on the land belonging to Francis C. Densil Fernandes of Victoria Builders had taken up the contract of constructing the building. Mangalore City Corporation Town Planning Officer Balakrishna Gowda and Labour Department officials visited the spot. The Kavoor police have taken up a case of causing death due to negligence against the contractor.
